Children&#39;s hoops and guide sticks



y 0, 1961 J. P. LE BROOY ET AL 2,985,985

CHILDRENS HOOPS AND GUIDE STICKS Filed Oct. 27, 1958 1 117.5 T1710 III ill 1:17.111 1 17.13 1 17.14

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firramvsyr United States Patent I CHILDRENS HOOPS AN-D GUIDE STICKS John P. Le Brooy, 369 Clarke Ave., WestmounbQuebec, Canada, and Paul J. Le Brooy, '3131 Trafalgar Heights, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Filed Oct. 27, 1958, Ser. No. 769,7 12

This invention relates to toy articles for children and particularly to hoops and guide sticks therefor whereby a child can guide and direct a hoop into rotating and spin- 7 ning manoeuvers.

The invention consists essentially of a hoop and a guide stick formed from lightweight metals, wood, plastic or rubber compounds in which the hoop can be -a circular band having a flat or tapered periphery and may have a diaphragm holding the band to a circular shape, while the guide'stick is provided with angled or curved surfaces for the purpose of manoeuvering the hoop in rolling in a straight or weaving path or spinning and being capable of diverting the hoop from oneform of-aetion to another form.

The object of the invention is to provide a lightweight hoop and guide stick forchildrens'usewhich can be made to perform many intricate manoeuvers withease by relatively youngchildren.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lightweighthoop and guide stick which can be safely used by children without harmful effects.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hoop and guide stick combination which can be manufactured in various sizes to suit children and grown-ups.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical side elevation of one form of hoop forming part of this invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical edge view of the hoop shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the rim portion of the hoop shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 but showing a hoop without a diaphragm centre.

Figure 5 is a vertical side elevation of an alternative form of hoop.

Figure 6 is a vertical edge view of the hoop shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the rim portion of the hoop shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view similar to Figure 7 but showing a hoop without a diaphragm centre.

Figure 9 is an elevational view of a guide stick for the hoops.

Figure 10 is a side elevation of the guide stick shown in Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a modified form of the guide stick shown in Figure 9.

Figure 12 is a modified form of the guide stick shown in Figure 11.

Figure 13 is an elevational view of a guide stick having a T head.

Figure 14 is a modified form of the guide stick shown in Figure 13.

Figure 15 is a plan view of the guide stick shown in Figure 11 and showing in chain dotted lines, the attitude i 2 of a hoop to the handle depending how: and where the pressure of the guide stick is applied to the hoop.

Figure 16 is a plan view of a guide stick'showing a hoop starting groove running the length ofthev stick.

Referring to the drawings the childrens hoop 5:shown in Figures 1 to 4 is characterized in that its peripheral rim 6 has a section in the form of anisoscele's triangle having a slightly rounded apex 7. The area of the hoop .5 within the rim 6 may be filled by the diaphragm 8'attached. centrally to the base'9 of the triangular 'peripheralrim 6 as shown in detail in Figure 3 or the peripheral rim 6 may be sufiiciently stifi in itself to retain the circular form of the hoop without theinternal support of a'diaphragm; as shown in Figure 4.

The diaphragm 8 is provided with a centrally located guide stick receiving aperture 10 and the surfaces ofthe diaphragm 8 may be divided up into a series of sectors by the lines llwhich can becoloured with a diversity of colours which will blend into any desired colouriwhen the hoop is rotated at highispeed. The colours may be defined by circles instead of sectors.

An alternative form of'hoop 12 is shown in Figures 5 to 8. In this form the peripheral rim 13 is rectangular in section. The area of the hoop 12 within the rim 13 may be provided with a diaphragm similar to that shown in Figure 1 or the diaphragm may have a tapered radial section as shown in Figure 6 where the diaphragm'14 may have its thickestportion at the centre of thehoopand be tapered downto thepoint where it joins the innerperipheral surface" 15 of the rim13.- The diaphragm 14'Ymay have a'centrally located guide stick receiving aperture' lfi.

In order that-the hoop in its various forms described above may be guided in a variety 0f intricate 'manoeuvers, a guide'stick is'provided whereby by applying the guide stick against the outer periphery or the inner periphery of the rim of the hoop or to the bounding edge of the centrally located aperture, the hoop can be rolled on the ground by pushing or pulling, it may be spun on the ground about a vertical axis or it may be spun in the air using the guide stick as a spindle.

The guide stick is composed of a handle and a head. The guide stick shown in Figures 9 and 10 has the handle 20 and a head 21 and is shown as being made from fiat material. The handle 20 could have a round section if desired. The head 21 is triangular in form and is particularly adapted for use with the hoop shown in Figures 1 to 4. The hoop can be guided by applying the surface 22 or the surfaces 23 against the periphery of the rolling hoop and the direction in which the hoop is rolling may be changed by bringing the angle 24 between the head 21 and handle 20 to bear on the periphery of the hoop and then exerting side pressure with the guide stick against the hoop.

A variation of the guide stick is shown in Figure 11 in which the surface 25 has a slight concave curve. this form the direction of travel of the rotating hoop can be changed by moving the handle 20 in a horizontal plane in one direction or another. In Figure 12 the outer ends of the concave surface 25 is formed with a pair of curved fingers 26. These curved fingers hold the rotating hoop from sliding off of the concave curved surface 25.

In Figure 13 the guide stick is formed with a T head 27 in which the surfaces 28 and 29 can be used to either (Patented May 30, 1961 V Figure 15 has been inserted in the drawings as a typical example of how the attitude of the hoop with respect to the guide stick may be changed by exerting horizontal pressure on the hoop in one direction or another.

In Figure 16 of the drawings, the guide stick is shown having a groove 32 running the full length of the stick on one face. This groove 32 may be fiat or round to take the peripheral edge of the hoops shown in Figures 1 and 5 and provides a guide along which the hoop can be run when the guide stick is held at a downward inclined angle. By this means the hoop can be given a running rotation start on to the ground.

Any of the guide sticks illustrated in Figures 9 to 14 can be used to roll or guide the hoop by inserting a portion of the head of the guide stick in the central aperture or 16 of either of the hoops illustrated and the direction of travel can be altered by exerting slight pressure on the stick. The hoops can also be spun about a vertical axis by imparting a twirling motion to the guide stick and applying the curved surfaces 25 or 28 of the guide sticks to the top of the hoop. Another use for the hoop and guide stick is to first pass the handle of the guide stick through the central aperture 10 or 16 of the hoop and then spin the hoop on the handle until a fairly high speed of rotation of the hoop is attained, the hoop can then be swung into any position about the person holding the handle with only slight pressure of the guide stick on the hoop being necessary to maintain the rotation of the hoop.

Many other motions of the hoops can be evolved after a child or adult gains a little practice with the device. Both the hoops and the guide sticks can be manufactured from lightweight metal, wood or plastic and all corners can be rounded so as to make the device safe for use by even the youngest child. Also the hoop and guide sticks can be made in any size for different age groups while the length of the handle may be extended to give greater effect to the twirling motion of the hoop about the operator.

What we claim is:

1. A childrens toy comprising in combination, a hoop and a guide stick for rotating and guiding said hoop in any desired path, the said hoop comprising a flat disc of relatively thin section, a rim of triangular section joined to and disposed about the periphery of the said disc, the apex of the triangular section of rim forming the running edge of the hoop being located radially outwards of the periphery of the disc and in the same plane thereof, the said guide stick having a handle portion and a head portion, the said head portion of the guide stick being of flat triangular form the apex of which is joined to one end of the handle portion, the sides of the triangular head portion adjacent the handle portion forming together with the handle portion a pair of angle fulcrums or engagement with the apex of the said hoop to change the path of the rotating hoop with changing attitude of the guide stick with respect to the hoop.

2. A childrens toy as set forth in claim 1, in which the edge of the triangular head portion opposite to the apex joining the head portion to the handle portion is slightly concave.

3. A childrens toy as set forth in claim 1, in which one face of the guide stick is provided with a hoop periphery receiving groove extending the full length of the guide stick including the handle portion and the head portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 608,855 Hefley Aug. 9, 1898 1,272,240 Enomoto July 9, 1918 1,499,216 Hart June 24, 1924 1,895,393 Isbell Jan. 24, 1933 2,381,581 Entringer Aug. 7, 1945 

